


Insecurities

by Insanus Navicularis (DiDive)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Insecurities, Irondad, Kid Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 22:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16606898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiDive/pseuds/Insanus%20Navicularis
Summary: “”You know you can bring your friends to the tower, right?" Tony had said, and that was the sentence that triggered all of Peter's insecurities.”Peter Parker’s a good kid, he swears, he just has too many insecurities in his head.Not really as angsty as it sounds, it’s just a bunch of fluff.





	Insecurities

"You know you can bring your friends to the tower, right?" Tony had said, and that was the sentence that triggered all of Peter's insecurities.

————————————————————————

"Hey! Where are you going, young man? Your aunt let you in my watch and I'm not risking you dying and making her angry at me" Tony said, coming form the kitchen with a cup of coffee and raised eyebrows.

'Of course you don't want, dad' Peter wanted to reply with a cheeky grin- or whatever face the kids looked at their fathers with, he really didn't know, in that area he was as experienced as Jake Peralta-

"To Ned's house, didn't I tell you? Sorry. We're working on a project, it's individual but we like to work with each other" Peter explained quickly, his backpack was full of spare pieces to add to his project and some new ideas he had.

"You didn't" Tony said affectionately, ruffling his kid's hair "Again? I'd thought that you'd be finished by how much you went there the last week"

"We are- kind of-, we just want it to be perfect for the competition on Friday" 

"Yeah, about that, what time is it? You didn't tell me, I'm sure as hell not missing it" he really wasn't, he knew how hard Peter had worked on it and he wanted to see it, he hadn't seen his kid's project and Peter wasn't saying something about it neither. 

He wanted to be there for him, not like his father, who would have brushed it off as an stupid thing; of course, he knew he wasn't the kid's father- or uncle, for the matter- but he liked to believe they were pretty close, he even had started to think of Peter as his own sometimes.

"Oh-Uhh" Peter hesitated.

Tony's eyes opened wide as he realized something "Unless you don't want me to be there, then I wouldn't, I promise..."

Just the possibility hurt Tony a little, but as he said before, he wasn't the kid's relative and he didn't want to seem like some kind of weird, needy mentor.

"No- No- It's at 8.30 am, on the gym" Peter explained and Tony nodded.

Being completely honest, Peter wanted Tony to be there, he really, really wanted him to be there and see his project and have his mentor's company, but what he didn't want to... was to have his mentor around his friends, or whoever other classmate of his was there.

He knew he was being immature and a bit egocentric, but he really liked Tony; his mentor had become the father figure his life was lacking, and he didn't want to lose it. 

Truth be told, he was a bit worried about his mentor realizing that Peter wasn't special at all, that he wasn't a genius- like he always believed- and that every other teen around his school was as smart as him or even more- much more some of them-. 

What if his mentor realized what a failure he was and decided to mentor one of the others kids? One who really was worth of Tony freaking Stark's time and who really was special? He knew it was a little selfish, but he really didn't want to lose Tony.

"Good, I'll be sure to be there on time, kiddo" Tony smiled softly at him as an idea popped in his head "You know you can bring your friends to the tower, right?"

"Uh- Yeah, yeah- Of course" Peter reassured him, he really didn't want to bring his friends to the tower. Again, call him selfish, but he wasn't risking anything.

"Ok, that way you can work in both places if you want. Now go!" the billionaire gave him a playful push.

Peter rolled his eyes, smiling, and pushing away his insecurities for later- or for when he wasn't going to be able to procrastinate them more-

As the elevator doors closed he could heard his mentor's yell "Remember to be here by 8.30 pm top, Underoos!"

————————————————————————

The day of the contest- Science Fair, actually- came, and Peter had to face the fact that his mentor was going to realize how much of a loser he really was, his nerves and insecurities making him jumpy and dread the time the bell rang to announce the starting of the fair and to tell the students they were free to go to their projects.

"Dude" Ned whispered "You okay? You've been more jumpy than normal"

"Yeah, yeah. Just nerves" he said without moving his eyes form his book to seem like he was actually doing work instead of having a mental break down right there.

"You're never nervous in this kind of things" 

"Tony's coming" 

"Holy-" Ned kind of shouted in the silent classroom, making all head turn towards him while the teacher gave him a warning look. He smiled sheepishly and apologized "What?! Seriously? The Tony Stark is coming to our science fair? Oh my god, oh my god"

"Yeah, he told me he wanted to come" 

"Oh, shit! You have to introduce me to him, will you? Please- he's basically your dad, you have to introduce us!" Ned said in an excited whisper.

"Of course, and he's not my dad, Ned. Please don't say something about it to him" Peter pleaded. 

He really wanted to tell Tony that the Science Fair was suspended so he wouldn't come, he knew he was going to see all the others kids' projects and how smart they were and then he'll think he was just an average loser with nothing special and leave him.

He really wanted Tony to be there, but not with the others kids around! And now, he realized, he'd have to introduce the man to one of the most intelligent kids in his entire school- his friend, who was able to hack a suit made by Tony Stark himself, who had made his own app by the age of ten and, to make it worse, who was in the same field of work as his mentor! While he knew a lot about mechanics, his fort was biology and chemistry, but Ned's and Tony's interest were the exact same-. What if Tony realized he liked Ned more? Oh god, he was going to lose his mentor, wasn't he?

The bell rang and he and Ned threw excitedly their things into their bags before going to the gym, some of the people were already there, he saw one judge, but the rest were only parents and relatives.

Ned guided him to their spot, babbling about the last Star Wars movie. His friend had offered to bring his project from his house earlier today and prepare his table, he knew that Peter didn't want Tony to see it and he sure would have if Peter had it in the tower.

"Here's your table, Peter!" Ned said with a smile as moved to his table- which was right next to Peter's- to talk to his mom.

Suddenly, he felt horrible, an awful person, that's what he was. His friend was always there for him, being happy for him and never ever seeming a bit jealous or bothered by Peter, and now? Now he was thinking about ways to not introduce him to Tony Stark, one of his idols, just because he was a bit jealous of Ned because he was more intelligent than him and afraid that his mentor was going to realize that. He was being a selfish jerk.

He shook his head and cleared his mind, he was going to enjoy this, he was going to be happy that Tony wanted to meet his friends because that meant that he cared, he wasn't going to let some stupid insecurities and jealous get in his way. He was going to do this, and he'll do this right.

He talked a little bit with Ned and his mom until he felt all eyes go wide and jaws open. 

Then, a too familiar hand was placed in his shoulder, it was strong, but kind, reassuring him with a squeeze.

He turned around to be met by his mentor's shoulder. He gave a step back and looked up at him, smiling.

"Hey, kiddo" Tony said, noting something off with Peter. Nerves, probably, he guessed, trying not to worry about his kid.

Peter smiled, pushing every thought away. He was going to enjoy this "Tony!"

Tony put an arm around Peter, ignoring the awestruck faces the students- and everyone- gave them.

"Uh- Tony, this is Ned, my friend, and his mom, Bethany" Peter introduced them and saw Tony put his characteristic charismatic smile on.

"It's a pleasure, Miss" he said, shaking his hand with Ned's shocked mom and then addressing her son "Ned, I'm glad I finally meet you, Peter is always mentioning you"

Peter rolled his eyes at Tony, he was making a show, he knew it.

After that everything went smoothly, Peter showed him his project and explained everything while Tony listened carefully, making a comment and praising him every so often. Nobody bothered them, but that probably was because Tony glared to whoever dared to come near them when he thought Peter wasn't looking.

Everything was going great and Peter was actually enjoying it, his nervousness forgotten as he rambled happily about his project and introduced him to MJ- who looked unimpressed, as always-

"And what about you? What's your project, Ned?" Tony had asked, and for some reason that made Peter upset, made him remember every insecurity he ever felt.

But he knew it wasn't the case, Tony was trying to be polite to his best friend, right? He felt awful and really didn't want to feel like this, a part of his brain- the logical one- knew that the scenario he made in his head was incredible unlikely to happen, he knew Tony would never do something like that and that he shouldn't be jealous or insecure because, sure, he wasn't the most intelligent of all, but he was pretty intelligent for his age; but he couldn't help it, his insecurities were bigger than his rational part.

The rest of the competition was pretty uneventful, the judges came and saw their presentations, neither of them looking too surprised to see Tony Stark with one of the kids and, then, the winner was going to be announced.

"Welcome back to the 31st Science Fair of Midtown High! First of all I want to say that we are all very proud of our students and their capabilities, in our eyes, you are all winners" the principal said and everybody clapped, hearing a few groans and making a few eye rolls at the cliche of 'everyone is the winner' speech "Now, I know that you're very impatient to know the winners of this year, so I'm not going to hold you back anymore"

 

The principal announced the winner of every grade in order "And the winner of the third grade is Ned Leeds, with N-478, his robot!"

Peter clapped and cheered for his friend, only feeling a little sad that he did not win... and a little embarrassed- he wasn't going to lie-, with Tony there he was embarrassed at not winning, his mentor/father figure thought the world of him, that he was the best of the best. He was always telling Peter how proud he was of him and how intelligent and talented he was for his age, now he was going to realize that it wasn't true.

————————————————————————

"Pete? Are you okay?" the billionaire said, preoccupied about his kid, the talkative and happy of his kid had been silent since the Science Fair finished and he didn't know why.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Mr. Stark" 

Uh-Oh, that was all that Tony needed to hear to know that Peter was definitely not okay. He only called Tony 'Mr. Stark' when something was wrong.

"Okay... Why don't we sit on the couch and talk this out like the humans we are, Huh? How does that sound, Underoos?" Tony's voice was soft and comforting, putting a hand on Peter's back and guiding him to the couch.

"What happened?" Is something I did? He didn't have the courage to ask as they sat down.

"Nothing, really"

"Pete, I can't help if I don't know the problem"

Peter sighed "I know, but really it's nothing, you'll think it's stupid and it's because it is"

"When have I ever thought that something you said was stupid? If it's bothering you it can't be stupid, I don't care if you tell me that you're upset because of a fried potato or whatever" Tony tried to tell him, patience in his tone, he knew from experience that Peter would open up eventually.

"Just... just that- Ugh" Peter tried to explain "You remember when you told me that I could bring friends to the tower?"

Tony nodded, not knowing where this conversation was heading "Well... I knew that, I knew that you'd let me, I just... I didn't want you to meet my friends? Maybe? I don't know"

The billionaire’s eyes went a little wide; so it was something about him. 

He should have known it was because of him, maybe he embarrassed the kid, he didn't know how this being a pare- mentor- worked, but maybe his kid was embarrassed by him? That he was Tony Stark, the Tony Stark? Oh god, he didn't want Peter to feel like that, he could have just avoided his friends when they came to the tower if Peter had told him sooner. That would also explain why he was acting so strange at the fair and when he asked about it.

Peter took his silence as something bad "Sorry- I know- I told you it was dumb, Mr. Stark!"

"Okay, first, you have to stop calling me 'Mr. Stark', we're past way that, yeah?" his father figure said "And second, I'm really sorry if I did something wrong, but you could just have told me to avoid you and your fiends when you came to the tower, that way I wouldn't meet them and you could still hang out in here"

"No! It's not you- I- Just- I don't..." Peter took a deep breath "It's not you, Tony, I promise. It's my friends... well, not them, it's me"

"You?" now Tony was really confused, and he was a genius, after all.

"Yeah, I don't feel comfortable with them here? Kind of? Like, they are great, you'd like all of them, but... I think that's kind of the problem? I mean, I was scared that when you meet them you'd realize that they're all just so great and I'm not, you would realize that I'm not the most intelligent, or the most popular, or the kindest, and then you'd realize that I'm nothing special really and you wouldn't want me anymore and like, I can't lose you too, and I know that it's a very selfish way of thinking and probably not the healthiest, but I can't help it and I feel like an awful friend for being jealous of them but I don't want you to realize how much of a failure or a loser I really am" 

Peter blurred out suddenly. He started and it felt like he couldn't stop because it felt so good to finally talk about it to someone, like all the things that have been bothering him recently where running out through his mouth and that left him feeling light and good, as a weight out of his shoulders.

The mechanic, instead, was stunned... what? Did he heard what he did? His kid thought that he could really just stop loving him? That he would just left him because he was not perfect? Oh god, he was becoming Howard, wasn't he? 

Tony wanted to tear his eyes out for not thinking about it sooner. He was so preoccupied trying to not be like Howard- complimenting the kid, telling him how proud he was of him and highlighting all his glories- that he didn't realize that it was all turning around and making the kid feel like he owed him something, like he had to live up to those expectations Tony had for him without realizing that Tony didn't expect anything of him, because in his eyes his kid will always be the best in everything, be perfect.

This must be how parents feel like, he thought. How that woman that was so proud of his son playing football although he was the worst, or that dad who said that his child was the best artist when a horse would have painted pictures nicer than the ones the child painted, felt. That's how Tony felt about Peter, because the kid could be the worst in everything and Tony would still thought that he was perfect.

"Oh, god" he mumbled, looking at Peter with sorry eyes only to realize that his kid's cheeks where wet and his eyes reds, making him feel even worse "Peter..." he whispered.

He brought the kid to his chest, a hand on his back, making soothing circles, and the other tangled in the kid's curls and bringing Peter's face even closer to him. One of Peter's hand latched onto his father figure shirt with a deadly grip, his knees to his chest and his bare feet tucked under Tony's tights.

Tony hummed lightly and began to softly pull at the knots of the kid's brown curls, combing and patting his head. His other hand feeling the vibrations of the kid's breathes and wanting nothing more than to even them out.

Tony felt horrible, this was his fault.

After the kid calmed down he began to talk, pushing the kid off of him by his shoulders but still keeping a firm grip on them to ground him.

"Peter, I want you to hear and not interrupt me, okay? This is serious" he began with a stern voice "Peter, I am so sorry that I made you feel that way, that was the last thing I wanted to: my father always had expectations too high for me to reach and I didn't want that pressure on you, my father never told me that he was proud of me or congratulated me when I did something right, and I didn't want that for you, but I didn't realize that my praise was actually pressuring you"

"No- No, I like your praises- like, a whole lot-" Peter laughed a little "I really like when you tell me those things, they made me feel good and important. It's not your fault, and you're nothing like your dad"

"Whatever" he mumbled "I'm really sorry, Peter, but I want you to know something and to remember this always: I'll always be proud of you, kiddo, and I'll always think you're the best, and that's- That's because I can't be objective, yeah? I'll admit it, I can't be objective, because in my eyes you're always going to be the best at everything- even cooking" he joked as he poked his kid's ribs, thinking of the time he set the pot on fire- making pasta-

Peter actually laughed at that and Tony hoped that it'll be the only sound he ever heard on his kid's mouth again, not sobs or some fake self deprecating shit.

"Point is, Underoos, that I know that you aren't perfect, you're human, just as me- a little more sticky maybe- and, as much as we like to pretend that we are, we aren't perfect, and that's alright. I don't care if you aren't the best at everything you do or at anything you do, the thing is that in my eyes you're always going to be perfect, because I can't be objective because you are my kid, and parents are never objective when it comes to their childs" he smiled at his kid, seeing the blush in his cheeks and the small and shy smile in his face making it worth it letting down some- or all- of his walls and talking about feelings.

Peter launched at him, hugging him tightly with his face in his shoulder. An hysterical laugh bubbling in his throat that Peter tried to contain with no glory.

His chest was warm and he felt giddy, like a little kid on Christmas- or whoever in Christmas because, honestly, everybody liked Christmas-. Tony had not only assured him that he didn't have to be the best at everything, but also admitted that he couldn't be objective with Peter and implied that he was Peter's dad and- Oh, god, it felt so good to be reassured after having his insecurities in his head for the last days.

After the hysteria came down, and the adrenaline rush with it, Peter was left half asleep on Tony's chest.

Tony moved them into a more comfortable position, with Peter's head in his chest and his kid's legs sprawled on the couch, Tony's arm around his kid's body to keep him to his chest and the other back at it's place on the kid's curls, combing his hair softly.

Peter latched his hand on Tony's collar shirt loosely and began to drift asleep.

"I love you, Pete" Tony whispered against his kid's hair, he then gave a- rather rough and stiff- kiss to his forehead, as if he hadn't done that before, which Peter thought that he probably- mostly sure, 99% sure- he hadn't.

"I love you, too, Tony" the kid's voice was slurred with sleep.

Then Peter laughed tiredly against the man's chest.

"What's so funny?" 

"You called yourself my parent before, no take backs" his kid slurred, words also muffled by his shirt.

He smiled "Good, because I wouldn't dream of taking it back ever" he murmured once again against the kid's curls.

"Good night, dad. Love you, dad" Peter smiled tiredly.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Leave kudos and comments! I really love them! They made my day.
> 
> Also, if you’re looking for more soft Irondad check my collection “And Feelings” Thanks


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